Breast Feeding Q and A
Posted by little2ant on Mar 22, 2010 · Member since Aug 2004 · 3055 posts
Breastfeeding can be really difficult, especially without the support of other moms!
I'd love to open this thread as a place to help each other out and offer advice. I know PG was having some trouble, which made me think of this.
I will start by saying the first 6 weeks is AWFUL-it is painful (esp light skinned moms) and is almost unbearable. If you can make it through the 6 weeks, it's all downhill from there. Also, the 1st 20 seconds of latching on during this time is the worst. Take deep breaths and count to 20 till the pain subsides.
I nursed Noah until age 20 months, and Lyle is still nursing at 20 months.
I can't type for shit right now and have to correct every word, so that is all for now. :-[
Yeah, I think getting her to sleep through the night is more for my husband's sake than mine or Maia's; though I am quite tired and really unable to do much else but take care of her and try to get stuff done around the house while she naps.
I didn't really have a good feeling about the cereal thing - she is too young and I don't want to interfere with breastfeeding. Doing some looking around online, I found a lot of conflicting information and experiences from other people. Guess I'll just go with my gut on this one and DH can be patient:)
Thanks for all your opinions and information!
ALSO, sleeping through the night at that age means 4 hours....not 12 or anything crazy like that!
aren't you the one who gets up with him anyway?
ALSO, sleeping through the night at that age means 4 hours....not 12 or anything crazy like that!
aren't you the one who gets up with him anyway?
Yes, I am the one getting up with her(Maia is a girl:). She is sleeping for 4 hour stretches, sometimes longer but not often. I think my husband has been getting a lot of "helpful advice" (unwarranted) at work about caring for baby. This cereal thing is just the latest in a series of suggestions about how to take care of our daughter. Oh well, like I said before, I was leery of the cereal thing and I'm glad to have you all to kind of back me up with this.
I wouldn't do the cereal, it really dosen't help anyways, but if you do need some more sleep, pumping for 1 bottle for dad to give her at night can help you out a lot. My husb and I did that, He took the first feeding, I did the second, so I could get almost 6 or 7 hours straight if I went to bed as soon as I had feed my baby. It worked great, and many babies can feed fine with a bottle and still nurse like champs, as long as the nursing is going well otherwise.
I wouldn't give her rice until at least 4 months. Breastfed babies really don't need anything other then breast milk until 6 months (to a year).
If you plan on introducing a bottle to her now is the time to do it though. My son will be a year next week and we tried to introduce a bottle too late, about 9 weeks, and he would never take one. He is doing ok with a sippy cup now, but still prefers the boob. I have no idea how I am going to ween this kid, he is such a booby baby. My husband is very ready for me to go back to work though.
Do you have a lactation consultant at your local hospital you can call? Usually they will talk to you for free (at least the ones here will), I'd be more then willing to find their number for you if you want to pretend you are in Boise, Idaho. They are so helpful and can really help you wade through the 'helpful' advice you husband brings home from work for you.
yes, I would wait on the rice milk/cereal until at least 6 months, rice milk doesn't have enough fat for babies, and the cereal should wait until then as well. I introduced a bottle too late too, (around 6 months, when I had to go back to work,) and she rejected the pumped breastmilk those first couple of days while I was panicking at work and getting phone calls from my sister that she wouldn't take it, (she would take a little but then stop.) She started to take it just fine, but i had been so concerned with not giving her a bottle before and I think if I had another child I wouldn't be.
No cereal for Maia yet:) I still haven't tried to give her a bottle yet and have been procrastinating about pumping even though my forceful let down situation has eased up. It seems like I should try early with some breast milk in a bottle though, huh?
My LC told me to introduce a bottle between 6-8 weeks. When I learned that information Avery was already 9 weeks and then I kept procrastinating it. lol
No cereal for Maia yet:) I still haven't tried to give her a bottle yet and have been procrastinating about pumping even though my forceful let down situation has eased up. It seems like I should try early with some breast milk in a bottle though, huh?
It might give you a little bit of a break if you do and have someone else feed her with it. That helped me and also when I was there she just wanted to nurse, but if Daddy gave her one she would take it better from him. Karma i hadn't heard that time frame, but I wish I would have, we didn't start trying until she was 6 months, which was WAY to long to wait.
I think I have a blocked milk duct. My right boob has a really sore spot that started hurting last night and has since turned blotchy pink. Anyone know some good remedies? So far I've read:
-applying a heat pack before feeding
-feeding often, and always starting on the affected side to promote better drainage
-massaging the area (ouch)
-holding the baby so his chin is pointed at the sore spot (which I already do...I use the cradle hold and the sore spot is on the lower left side of my right boob, if that makes sense)
I'd welcome any other advice. I hope this goes away soon 'cuz it really hurts.
I think I have a blocked milk duct. My right boob has a really sore spot that started hurting last night and has since turned blotchy pink. Anyone know some good remedies? So far I've read:
-applying a heat pack before feeding
-feeding often, and always starting on the affected side to promote better drainage
-massaging the area (ouch)
-holding the baby so his chin is pointed at the sore spot (which I already do...I use the cradle hold and the sore spot is on the lower left side of my right boob, if that makes sense)
I'd welcome any other advice. I hope this goes away soon 'cuz it really hurts.
ouch those hurt, I had them 2 times, and 1 time it turned into Mastitis and I had to get antibiotics. All of the things you listed are the right things to do, even though the feeding and massaging hurt they help. I liked to massage in a hot shower, that seemed to lessen the pain some. Also, I noticed that pumping made it worse, so I don't know if you pump, but I would limit that as well.
Does anyone have any tips for getting a 3 month old breastfed baby to accept a bottle of expressed breastmilk? We've been trying without success the past few nights. :-\
With my daughter, my sitter had to let a few drops come out and put it on her lips. She latched onto the bottle. If my sitter just put it in her mouth she would gag. From a friend's experience, mom can't be anywhere around in order for the infant to take a bottle. Also, make sure you are using a nipple designed for breastfed babies. From what I have read, if the child refuses a bottle they can be fed with an eyedropper if you need to be away. Good luck.
Mom deffinitely needs to NOT be the one trying the bottle. Also make sure baby is really hungry, like after a long nap, that can help.
Thanks for the tips! I went to the store last night while my husband tried the bottle again and she did better with it. She's not wanting to suck the nipple but she did get some milk and actually swallowed it down. We'll keep trying.
I think I have a blocked milk duct. My right boob has a really sore spot that started hurting last night and has since turned blotchy pink. Anyone know some good remedies? So far I've read:
-applying a heat pack before feeding
-feeding often, and always starting on the affected side to promote better drainage
-massaging the area (ouch)
-holding the baby so his chin is pointed at the sore spot (which I already do...I use the cradle hold and the sore spot is on the lower left side of my right boob, if that makes sense)
I'd welcome any other advice. I hope this goes away soon 'cuz it really hurts.
Did you get this to clear up? I also had mastitis and lost my milk after the infection (on one side). That was with my first child because I had no idea what was going on and didn't know what to do.
This will sound crazy, and it will say online to NOT do this, but look at your nipple. Is there a white spot on it? If so, THAT might be what is blocking you....I forget what its called, but whenever I had one of those, I took a clean needle and just lightly poked around it until milk came spurting out of it. Then I nursed, and the hard area went away. You don't jab yourself with the needle, just a gentle poke that you really can't even feel. I swear by this...but only if you have that whitish pimple looking thing on your nipple.
ALSO, keep nursing on that side to help remove the blockage.
I think I have a blocked milk duct. My right boob has a really sore spot that started hurting last night and has since turned blotchy pink. Anyone know some good remedies? So far I've read:
-applying a heat pack before feeding
-feeding often, and always starting on the affected side to promote better drainage
-massaging the area (ouch)
-holding the baby so his chin is pointed at the sore spot (which I already do...I use the cradle hold and the sore spot is on the lower left side of my right boob, if that makes sense)
I'd welcome any other advice. I hope this goes away soon 'cuz it really hurts.
Did you get this to clear up? I also had mastitis and lost my milk after the infection (on one side). That was with my first child because I had no idea what was going on and didn't know what to do.
This will sound crazy, and it will say online to NOT do this, but look at your nipple. Is there a white spot on it? If so, THAT might be what is blocking you....I forget what its called, but whenever I had one of those, I took a clean needle and just lightly poked around it until milk came spurting out of it. Then I nursed, and the hard area went away. You don't jab yourself with the needle, just a gentle poke that you really can't even feel. I swear by this...but only if you have that whitish pimple looking thing on your nipple.
ALSO, keep nursing on that side to help remove the blockage.
When I feel a blockage I massage the area in a hot shower. Then I have him nurse the heck out of that side. More massaging, sometimes another shower or a hot rag. It usually clears up in a day or two.
My sister keeps saying to me that my son is too old to be nursing. He JUST turned 2 in July, and he is small (21lbs maybe). I saw her for the first time recently and when he asked to nurse, she was interrupting and saying, "you are too old!" and he was saying back, "Im NOT!" although I'm sure he didn't know what she meant-he likes to argue. Apparently, she was asking my other sister about it too, as if I'm being inappropriate. I should add that she has no kids, has breast implants, and lives in SW Florida. The culture there is different, I think. I don't see why she has so many opinions on the subject since she has never been in my the situation.
She said if he was smart enough to ask for it, he is too old. I said, that he is smart enough because he is breastfed! :)
Here where I live, it is perfectly normal to be nursing a "toddler", and I'd me more likely to get scoffed at if I weren't!
Oh well, to each her own. I think as long as both mom and child are comfortable doing it, it's OK. Plus, having the support of my community makes it easier.
That's too bad that your own sister isn't more supportive. You are doing a wonderful and very natural thing for your child and you sound like a great mother!
Oh well, to each her own. I think as long as both mom and child are comfortable doing it, it's OK.
BIngo. It's no one else's business.
Amelia could "ask for it" via sign language when she was 6 months old (it was her first sign). Since she could ask, was she "too old?" Also totally out of line for her to tell Lyle directly that he was too old. If she had to have this discussion, it should have been between you and her only. This is kind of like people who say they should stop "when they have teeth." There are some babies who are born with teeth, Amelia got her first at 3 months old! Really, there is no such thing is "when X happens, he/she is too old." It is up to the mom and the child to decide when it is time - and no one else.
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